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This Blueberry Banana Bread is the ultimate twist on a classic favorite! By combining a moist, one-bowl banana bread base with juicy fresh berries and a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping, we’ve created a loaf that is perfect for breakfast or dessert. It is incredibly easy to make and is the best way to use up those overripe bananas sitting on your counter.
This Blueberry Banana Bread recipe is the softest and moistest bread and is also incredibly easy to make! It’s full of fresh berries (or frozen) and tons of banana flavor. I created this from my favorite banana bread recipe – my moms – and it’s EPIC. It’s like a blueberry muffin meats bread!
What sets this recipe apart is the Cinnamon Sugar topping. Instead of a plain top, we sprinkle a generous layer of cinnamon and sugar over the batter before it hits the oven. This creates a sweet, slightly crunchy crust that perfectly complements the soft, fruit-filled interior of the bread.
Ingredients for Blueberry Banana Bread
- Be sure to use overripe bananas (the more spotted the better!) Bananas get sweeter as they get spotted and brown which makes them even more perfect for baking.
- Pro Tip: have overripe bananas but not going to make this bread today? Pop the bananas in the freezer (in their peels). They’ll turn black, but that’s ok. Then thaw, cut open, and squeeze into a bowl to mash to make banana bread.
- I prefer fresh blueberries in this recipe, but you can also use thawed frozen blueberries.
- Vinegar mixes with the milk to create sour milk, which helps the bread rise. The acid in the vinegar (or lemon juice) activates the baking soda which creates a tall and super moist quick bread.
- You can use any kind of milk or nondairy milk.
Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions. See below the recipe card for even more information: process shots, variations, FAQ and more.
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Dorothy’s Expert Tips
- How to keep blueberries from sinking in banana bread batter: Place your fresh berries in a small bowl and add about a teaspoon or two of flour. Toss the berries in the flour before adding it to the batter. This helps the berries stay put and not all sink to the bottom.
- Sometimes I add a bit of granulated sugar to the berries when dusting with flour, especially if my berries are more sour than I’d like.
- If you are using frozen blueberries, be sure to thaw them first and drain them well.
- I like to sugar my pan – this is like greasing and flouring (where you add 1-2 tablespoons of flour to a crisco or butter greased pan) but instead of flour you use granulated sugar. This is optional but adds amazing flavor.
- This will also make 3 mini loaves – you can use 3 mini loaf pans in place of one large pan.
Blueberry Banana Bread Recipe with Cinnamon Sugar Topping
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Bread:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons (105ml) milk, (see note)
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar, (see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (150g)granulated sugar
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, , softened
- 2 medium bananas, (brown spotted, overripe)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, (be sure to thaw and drain frozen berries)
Topping:
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5x3” loaf pan with butter and coat it with sugar. (You do this like you would grease and flour a pan. Grease it first, then add about 2 tablespoons sugar to the pan and move the pan side to side until the bottom and sides are coated with sugar. Do NOT substitute cooking spray for the butter. You can skip the sugaring and just use cooking spray, if you wish.)
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium or large bowl. Set aside.
- Place milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract in a measuring cup and set aside.
- Cream butter and ¾ cup sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Mash bananas with a fork and add to the butter mixture along with the eggs. Mix until chunky.
- Add the dry ingredients into the banana mixture along with the milk mixture. Mix until just combined (batter will be slightly lumpy). Fold in blueberries.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Combine ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the bread. The edges will be a dark brown and there will be a nice crack down the center.
- Cool completely before removing loaf from pan, but you can cut slices from the pan after it’s cooled for about 15-20 minutes.
- Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature. Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- The top of the bread will get deep golden, but if you notice the bread browning too fast, you can tent the pan with foil or reduce oven temperature to 325°F. This happens in various ovens, depending on how the oven cooks.
- You can use fresh or frozen berries, but make sure frozen berries are thawed and drained.
- Toss your berries with 1 tsp of flour to help them not sink into the bread.
- Basically this recipe calls for “sour milk” which I’ve separated as vinegar and milk. It’s essentially buttermilk – the acid in the vinegar activates the baking soda for a moist bread. You can use 7 tablespoons of buttermilk if you have it and omit the milk and vinegar. Don’t have vinegar? Use lemon juice instead. You can also use ANY kind of milk – dairy or nondairy)
- Pan sizes: a 9×5 pan is the best to use, although an 8×4 will work, but you’ll want to watch it to make sure it doesn’t get too brown on top before it’s done in the middle. You can also make this in 3 mini loaf pans or as 12 muffins.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to make Blueberry Banana Bread Step-by-Step
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare your pan.
- Whisk together the all purpose flour with salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside flour mixture. Mix milk and vinegar; set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, then mix in mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla, then add in dry ingredients and milk mixture.
- Fold in 2 cups blueberries. Pour into pans, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean – the loaf will be golden brown.
FAQs
Yes! You can freeze this bread recipe in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Quick breads take a long time to bake, and that center crack in the middle is the last to finish. If your bread isn’t done all the way, the center might stay gooey, or the bread will fall as it’s cooling. If you notice the bread getting too brown, tent it with foil or reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the crack/very center of the bread.
Toss your blueberries in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter. This helps them “grip” the batter so they stay suspended throughout the loaf.
Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf; it should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Avoid hitting a blueberry, as that will give a false “wet” reading.
This bread stays moist for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
Followed the recipe to a tee and not sure where I went wrong — the bread never baked all the way through. I even sliced it open and it still wouldn’t bake completely. Had to give up because the outside was beginning to burn. I’m not a newbie to baking so needless to say I am quite frustrated. What did bake is fantastic. Maybe I’ll try it as muffins next time.
Have you checked your oven temperature? That could be the culprit. I’ve made versions of this bread several times and the one thing I do know is that the outside gets very dark brown once it’s baked through. Chances are your oven temperature (or the way it bakes) is hotter. Try lowering the temp by 25° next time. You can also bake in two smaller pans (8×4) instead of one big one and it’ll cook faster. But definitely try a lower temp!
If it’s wrong to be making this at 12:30am, I don’t wanna be right! I just found your recipe and decided it couldn’t wait until morning. My house smells like heaven…baking, vanilla-y, cakey, banana-y heaven!
You’re my hero – baking on impulse at midnight. Love it! Hope you enjoyed the bread!
Fell for this recipe right off the go. My muffins are 1minute away from coming out of the oven. The rise looked a little low so I combed the recipe for what I may have skipped, sure enough, the salt! It is not mentioned in the instructions when to add the salt. I could kick myself for not double checking the list of ingredients but hoping this won’t effect the outcome too much. Your photo makes this recipe look so satisfying.
Thank you for letting me know! I’m going to change it now but it won’t affect the outcome at all, most of the time I never add any salt to baking per my family preference. They should still taste okay!
I made this a few weeks ago for my dad on Father’s Day and he has already asked for it TWO more times!! We tried it with black raspberries from his garden and it was just as delicious as it was with the blueberries. The cinnamon sugar is what really takes it over the top. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!!
What a great idea, using the blackberries. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
It wouldn’t let me reply to your message. Ive used the same pan for years and never once thought to actually read the measurement. (I know, silly right?) Well I just looked and its in cm 22X11x6. So my pan size comes out to almost 9 inches x 4 1/2 inches x 2 1/2 inches. I also only filled the pan 3/4 of the way and still overflowed by over an inch! I feel so SILLY! But apparently it still came out good because I made this last night an woke up to only 1/4 of the loaf left!
It’s so strange that it overflowed! I’ve made this recipe so many times and it always grows up and peaks over the top of the pan, but not over it. So strange. Maybe that 1/2″ really makes a difference! Glad it tasted good thought! 🙂
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